The manufacture of items generally involves a multitude of steps or processes to take the item or part from raw materials to finished part. The particular processes vary from one industry to the next and according to the materials used. However, there are some processes that cut across multiple industries. For example, forming, preparation, and finishing processes are typically utilized in the manufacture of plastic and metal items. In addition, each process typically entails more than one step. More specifically, in the manufacture of metal parts, forming the part involves preparing the raw materials and casting, forging, rolling, and/or stamping the item. Subsequently, the item is prepared for finishing. For example, sprue is removed from cast items, rolled and stamped items are cleaned and degreased, and the like. More particularly, chemical processing is widely utilized in the metal part fabrication industry to prepare and/or finish the part. Broadly, these chemical processes include: cleaning, de-greasing, etching, deoxidizing, reducing, chemical deposition, and the like. These processes are similar in that they generally involve immersing or otherwise coating a fabricated part in a chemically reactive solution. Typically, a large batch of parts are dipped into a tank, held in the tank for some length of time and then rinsed and/or moved to another tank of some other chemically reactive solution.
A disadvantage associated with conventional metal part fabrication is that parts are processed in a “batch and queue” manner. That is, some steps involve machines that do not lend themselves to batch processing. Thus, parts queue up as they are processed one or a few at a time. However, other steps are preformed in great batches. For example, conventional chemical processing systems are generally designed for batching hundreds or thousands of parts through the process. In addition, chemical processing tanks are typically located in a separate facility away from the fabrication process. The tanks are typically large, e.g. a 20,000 gallon capacity, and do not lend themselves to producing a flow of single work pieces. These and other factors lead to large investments of time and materials prior to the production of a first part. Lead time between batches is also quite large and, if a faulty batch is produced or production is stopped while a batch is in process, a great deal of materials are wasted.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a device and system for manufacturing items and a method of use that is capable of overcoming the disadvantages described herein at least to some extent.